Total 2 job vacancies by Clifford Chance

Company Description

Clifford Chance has an ambitious global strategy which puts clients at the very heart of everything the firm does. The Business Development ("BD") function is pivotal in making the firm strategy a reality. BD teams collaborate strategically with partners, lawyers and other business professional functions to drive sustainable growth. The BD function supports conversion of key client and market opportunities through the development and delivery of targeted business development and marketing plans.

This role is part of a global BD team with a primary responsibility for supporting our Asia Pacific Debt Finance teams across a range of Debt Finance sub-product areas including Leveraged & Infrastructure Finance, Private Credit, Corporate / Acquisition Finance, Asset Finance, Real Estate Finance and Fund Finance.

This is a hands-on and proactive role where you will work alongside a core BD team in region, collaborating directly with Debt Finance team members and key stakeholders. You will also act as a key point of contact for relevant practice/product stakeholder(s), providing support on execution of wider BD strategy.

This role presents an excellent opportunity to explore client and market development in a professional services environment working closely with multiple stakeholders to deliver tangible results as part of a global Business Development team.

Job Description

You will work directly to support key stakeholders on their client and market development initiatives and support the implementation of BD strategy.

This role collaborates closely with the fee-earning population in region and globally to support identification, pursuit and winning of revenue generating opportunities. It connects Partners and lawyers to the full spectrum of BD services and expertise available across the global function.

This role works alongside counterparts in Asia Pacific, in other product groups, as well as being a key member of the BD community globally.

Revenue generation

• Support the practice/product in implementing its business development plan.
• Support the coordination of BD product offerings and initiatives within the wider practice/product and the firm more widely.
• Leverage the Client Insight & Business Intelligence Team (and other client and/or sector teams) to track market trends and opportunities for the practice/product.
• Provide tailored input into significant practice /product pitches and updating and maintaining capability statements.

Reputation management and marketing communications

• Support initiatives to position and raise the profile of the practice/product and its individual lawyers.
• Involvement in the organisation of relevant BD client events, seminars and conferences, sponsorships, PR, etc.
• Assist with marketing communications projects, including the delivery of relevant directory/awards submissions.
• Support in the creation and distribution of thought leadership material.

Client and Market Development

• Apply working knowledge of practice and products to support firmwide client and sector programmes.

Business Development Function

Support the implementation of the BD Operating Model by assisting with the alignment of activity to teams (within and outside of BD), in line with technology roadmaps and transition plans.

Qualifications

• Previous experience in professional services business development (preferably in a law firm)
• A strong interest in and understanding of the work types(s) relevant to this role
• Sound commercial awareness of legal market development, particularly in relation to work type(s) relevant to this role
• The ability to develop advisory relationships with partners
• Strong project management and organisational skills
• Excellent oral and written communications skills
• Ability to work as part of a team and with lawyers of all seniority levels
• Commitment to quality and attention to detail
• A degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline

Additional information

As a global law firm our work spans jurisdictions, cultures, and languages – and so do our people.

Our culture is collaborative and inclusive — where diverse perspectives are recognised and valued. Where performing to your highest ability, unlocks equal access to opportunities to learn, thrive and grow. 

We combine deep legal expertise and commercial intelligence to grow, transform, protect, and defend our clients' businesses, across every critical moment.

We operate in the sectors and regions that matter to our clients. With forward-thinking insights and innovative, tech-enabled solutions that combine deep knowledge of their sectors and markets.

You’ll build connections and work with colleagues as one global team. You’ll unlock opportunities for clients, across borders, cultures, legal and commercial disciplines.

Join us to work with colleagues as one global team – empowering each other to be exceptional and create advantage for our clients.

Company Description

Clifford Chance is one of the world's leading law firms, helping clients achieve their goals by combining the highest global standards with local expertise.  The firm has unrivalled scale and depth of legal resources across the three key markets of the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe and focuses on the core areas of commercial activity: capital markets; corporate and M&A; finance and banking; real estate; tax; pensions and employment; litigation and dispute resolution.

The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting the delivery of the full matter lifecycle for a portfolio of significant matters.  The success of this role will be measured by: achieving good levels of engagement with key stakeholders; achieving measurable benefits from the activities undertaken; and adding value to the organisation by contributing to the development and roll out of legal project management best practices, tools and techniques.

The successful candidate will be credible, engaging and authoritative, with the ability to build close working relationships at all levels.  Ideally, the successful candidate will have a solid background in project management, preferably gained in a professional services environment.

Job Description

Working in collaboration with the File Partner and the Managing Associate, utilising Legal Support Centre (LSC) and other available Business Professional resources as appropriate, the Legal Project Manager will be expected to take responsibility for supporting the delivery of the full matter lifecycle, from pricing and inception through to the completion of post-closing activities, for a portfolio of significant matters (or work streams within those matters), to ensure that they are delivered in accordance with the client's needs, efficiently, on budget and within timeframe.  They will also be expected to contribute to the development of legal project management tools and best practices at the Firm and provide training in project management techniques and best practices to lawyers.

This will include some or all of the following (depending on the precise nature of the matter):

• In consultation with clients and colleagues, prepare scope, resourcing and budget proposals for relevant matters or work streams and then track progress against those proposals, alerting the relevant stakeholders promptly to variances and recommending changes and developing contingency plans where necessary
• Working with the File Partners and Managing Associates, and consulting as necessary with the Work Allocation Partners, ensure that relevant matters are adequately and appropriately resourced at all times, taking in to account anticipated changes in matter activity and the upcoming workload and availability of members of the matter team
• Arrange appropriate kick-off meetings or communications, ensure that members of the relevant matter teams are adequately briefed about the nature of the matters and the client's expectations and ensure that they are kept up-to-date about any relevant changes through regular update meetings and other communications as appropriate
• Maintain or arrange for the maintenance of appropriate communications channels and resources, such as working party lists, team email distribution lists and online deal and data rooms
• Ensure that any applicable information barriers and/or insider lists are established and maintained
• Act as the interface, where appropriate, to matter-specific and other personnel at the client, lawyers in other practice areas and offices, external and opposing counsel third party service providers and other Innovation and/or Pricing colleagues
• Develop matter timetables to track milestones, deliverables and dependencies and produce periodic reports to provide status updates for both internal and external stakeholders
• Proactively identify any risks and issues that arise, provide options for their mitigation or resolution and take or co-ordinate the taking of appropriate responsive actions
• Assist the File Partner and Managing Associate with the billing process and provide update reports for the client as required
• Arrange post-closing matter reviews and lessons learned exercises

Skills

Business awareness:

• understands law firm financial and performance metrics, the link between effective matter management, profitability and delivering value to clients
• able to analyse financial reports of varying levels of complexity

Client focus:

• keeps clients directly informed and up-to-date with developments
• understands how client organisations function internally and shows sensitivity to cultural factors and the difference between clients

Problem solving with commercial insight:

• able to absorb and explain complex issues clearly and concisely
• able to understand the commercial rationale underlying a client's matter or the Firm's business, and demonstrate an understanding of data and concepts appropriate to the business problem
• willing to challenge and question assumptions; proposes alternative and sometimes novel solutions
• justifies recommendations and is able to handle objections and counter-proposals rationally
• identifies opportunities to deploy the Firm's technology products and/or delivery centres to enhance efficiency
• identifies opportunities to deploy Pricing skills and involve Pricing specialists to achieve optimal commercial outcome on matters
• rises above the detail to see broader implications, in terms of both long-term consequences of action and effects on the business analysis and areas outside of own field of expertise

Communication:

• produces clear, high-quality documents (for example, timetables and status reports) that clients can readily understand
• demonstrates consistently high-quality communications: written and oral
• demonstrates an understanding of the audience's needs and the nature of the information being shared
• has good negotiating skills, including the ability to listen to other points of view, uses reasoned argument and finds compromise where necessary

Leading and managing:

• provides project management support for the conduct of a matter, including regular updates to the client and monthly billing
• has strong planning skills: ensures client matters are resourced, monitored and progressed in accordance with client expectations and deadlines are met
• able to work under pressure, handle multiple tasks simultaneously, prioritise appropriately and delegate to others
• anticipates risks to implementation of a matter or project and can deal with problems
• clearly communicates the demands of the task to all concerned and briefs team members (including Business Services staff) appropriately (according to their skills, experience and knowledge)
• ensures collective experiences of best practice are captured and utilised to good effect
• assist with leading the paralegal pool

Relationship building and networking:

• demonstrates commitment to the team by supporting other team members and helping them deliver high-quality service to clients

Qualifications

It is essential that you have project management experience with a strong academic history.  Although not essential, a formal project management qualification, such as PRINCE2 or PMP would be desirable, as would a prior career as a lawyer, but neither is essential.  A legal qualification is not required.

Experience

You will have a solid background in project management, preferably gained in a professional services environment.  You will also have significant experience of managing teams and supporting complex, multi-jurisdictional matters or engagements (ideally, in a dedicated project management capacity).

Additional information

Equal opportunities statement

At Clifford Chance, we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society.

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age.  This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

We have a variety of flourishing employee networks. These networks are a place for colleagues to share experiences and advocate for change wherever they see an opportunity for improvement.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm. 

Find out more about our inclusive culture here